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The National Death Index: FAQ's and Other Info
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The National Death Index: FAQ's and Other Info

Are you applying to work with the NIH’s National Death Index? The following application questions have changed, including information you must include in your Notice of Award. You may have to contact your program office to update your application with this information.

Recently Revised Questions

  1. External funding sources?

List the names of all OTHER organizations providing funding for this project and indicate the type of support provided (i.e., grant, contract, cooperative agreement, interagency agreement, or other [specify]).

  • Name of organization:

  • Type of funding support:

NOTE: Except for NIH Grant Awardees who must provide the copy of their Notice of Award, each funding source must complete and sign the NDI Supplemental Confidentiality Agreement. The Notice of Award from NIH must contain specific language about the NDI data, otherwise the Supplemental Confidentiality Agreement must be completed.

  • The Notice of Award needs to include this language about funding NDI searches:

4a. Please select all that apply from the eligibility requirements checklist:

  • New searches will NOT be conducted (data will be used from prior approved project/projects).

  • FIRST and LAST NAME and SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

  • FIRST and LAST NAME and MONTH and YEAR OF BIRTH

  • SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER and DATE OF BIRTH and SEX

6a. Are you getting cause-of-death? (check yes) Please explain how the cause of death data received from the NDI will be used in this project.

6d. I have read and acknowledge that: (check yes)

  • Should there be any significant deviations from such studies, we fully understand that an amended NDI Application must first be submitted to and approved by NCHS.

  • Should follow-back investigations become necessary, and involve death records obtained via the NDI, it is understood that first we must (1) submit an amended Application Form describing the follow-back investigations, (2) obtain and submit an approval from an Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects, and (3) wait for the amended application to be reviewed by the NDI advisers and approved by Director of the NCHS Division of Vital Statistics.

  • Any information obtained via the NDI, will be flagged and stored separately from any administrative records or from statistical records that could be used in the future for purposes not described in the application. Computer records containing death record information obtained via the NDI shall also be flagged so that they will not be used in the future for purposes not described in the application.

9a. Name the organization(s), including your own, that will:

  • Submit records of study subjects for the NDI file search(es):

  • Receive the results of the NDI search directly:

10c. I have read and acknowledge that: (check yes)

No figure, including totals, will be less than 10 in tabulations for sub-national geographic areas, regardless of number of years combined. No data on an identifiable case will be derivable through subtraction or other calculation from the combination of tables in any presentation or publication. No data will permit disclosure when used in combination with other known data.

  • Upload the most current IRB approval letter and/or protocol, if applicable and remove the expired one.

  • If significant changes have occurred since the original application was submitted, please revise and submit the required documentation.

Other things to note

  • NDI account-related procedures can be confusing and restrictive in terms of login access and security. Only the PI may make account-related requests, which means they will often not answer questions from an assistant.

  • Some investigators have had their accounts mistakenly deactivated in the past. If this is the case for your account, the process to have it reinstated may be lengthy.

  • The NDI system was being revamped recently, leaving it inaccessible to research teams. If you are unable to update your application through the NDI system, schedule a call with your CDC/NDI contact, who should be able to access and update your application on your behalf.

  • The NDI confidentiality agreement has been updated to include language on AI.